A Dance with Dragons-Chapter 34

From A Wiki of Ice and Fire
Jump to: navigation, search
Bran III
A Dance with Dragons chapter
ADanceWithDragons.jpg
POV Bran Stark
Place Cave of the three-eyed crow
Page 448 UK HC (Other versions)
Chapter chronology (All)
Bran II
Tyrion VIII  ← Bran III →  Jon VII

Synopsis

A white haired woman with a bronze sickle - by Marc Fishman ©

Bran, Hodor, Jojen, and Meera are still dwelling in the cave of the children of the Forest and exploring its chambers. Bran uses his ability as a warg and skinchanger to enter Summer and Hodor. They begin to name some of the "children" as their own names are unpronounceable by the human tongue. Bran names one of the females Leaf, as she is always adorned with leaves. She is one of the few children who can speak the Common Tongue. Others are called Ash, Scales, Black Knife, Snowylocks, and Coals.

Jojen is growing extremely sad and solemn, and still has fits of shaking. His sister Meera does her best to keep up the spirits of both her brother and Bran.

The three-eyed crow teaches Bran how to enter into ravens. He learns that all of the ravens around the three-eyed crow have children who have passed away and remain in the skins of these animals. He also learns to use weirwoods to look into the past. The three-eyed crow tells Bran that he was once a lord called Brynden.

The children feed Bran a bowl of weirwood paste to awaken his green seeing gifts. Bran sees his father, Eddard, through Winterfell's heart tree, and learns that he can view the past, present and future through the weirwoods. The last greenseer tells Bran that he is haunted by his own ghosts, a brother that he loved, a brother that he hated, and a woman that he desired,[1] but knows from experience that you cannot change the past. When he gets tired, he sends Bran away. Hodor carries Bran to his bed.

In his sleep, Bran sees the following visions through Winterfell's heart tree:

  • His young father praying with a bowed head "…let them grow up close as brothers, with only love between them, and let my lady wife find it in her heart to forgive.";[2]
  • A girl and a younger boy play fighting with branches;[3]
  • A pregnant woman coming out of the black pool praying for a son to avenge her;
  • A slender girl on her toes kissing a knight as tall as Hodor;[4]
  • A pale, dark-eyed youth cutting three branches from the weirwood and shaping them into arrows;
  • Other lords of Winterfell: tall, hard, stern men in fur and chain mail;
  • A bearded man forcing a captive down on his knees, and a white-haired woman killing the captive with a bronze sickle.

Character List appearing/mentioned

References and Notes

  1. If the Three-Eyed Crow is indeed Brynden Rivers, as implied, then the loved brother is probably Daeron II, the hated brother is probably Aegor "Bittersteel" Rivers or perhaps Daemon Blackfyre, and the woman must be Shiera Seastar
  2. Probably shortly after his return from Robert's Rebellion, referring to Robb Stark and Jon Snow
  3. Possibly Bran's uncle Benjen Stark and late aunt Lyanna Stark; Bran finds the girl to be alike to his sister Arya, who is said to remind people of a young Lyanna as per A Game of Thrones, Chapter 22
  4. It is believed to be Dunk kissing a young woman, possibly a young Old Nan, at Winterfell, foreshadowing the next Dunk and Egg story, The She-Wolves of Winterfell.